Chapter 232 I Wish You Knew My Heart
The heavy rain showed no sign of stopping, and the raindrops hit the window frames, making a sound as dense as drumbeats.
Shen Yuexi lit the last charcoal brazier and sat down on the floor. With her cold hands, she propped up her soaked body and panted, tilting her head. "I'm... I'm saved."
The downpour finally stopped, and once she relaxed, she felt as if all her strength had been drained away.
This room was located on the second floor of the Longsheng Inn. It was one of the best rooms in the entire inn. The last time she came here with Madam Li and her daughter, she had booked this room for herself. This time, fleeing here on a rainy night, she had chosen this room again out of habit.
And as the only place to eat and stay in the town, she thought she should be able to find some ingredients in the inn's kitchen.
Three blazing charcoal braziers illuminated the once pitch-black room with a vibrant red glow. Xiao Zhuo sat on the floor, his sleeves dripping with water, sizzling as the charcoal fire warmed them. His wet, black hair plastered to his handsome face as he tilted his head to look at her.
Shen Yuexi glanced at Xiao Zhuo, and sure enough, he was still staring at her blankly. A small flame of anger immediately rose in her heart.
He was such a worrying man...
In the rain, she tried every method she could think of, but Xiao Zhuo refused to move.
He was quiet, not shouting, simply staring at her intently. His dull gaze held a certain inquiry, as if he couldn't recognize her, yet also as if he were trying to discern some secret from her face. To Shen Yuexi, he looked a bit like a stubborn student stuck on a problem, refusing to move until he had figured it out.
But she didn't have time to figure out what Xiao Zhuo was thinking. Nothing was more important than saving her life.
In desperation, she thought of a trick that Doctor Hua had told her before she left.
"You want some chicken soup, don't you?" Shen Yuexi coaxed Xiao Zhuo with a childlike tone, pointing in the direction of Longsheng Town, "If you just follow me obediently, I'll make you some chicken soup."
This sentence really worked. Perhaps he was so obsessed with drinking chicken soup that he was willing to go with her.
Shen Yuexi walked ahead, and the two of them crossed the muddy road into the Longsheng Inn, groping in the dark as they climbed the creaky stairs to the second floor. Fortunately, the room was fully stocked with charcoal, including a charcoal basin, flint, and charcoal, saving them the trouble of searching.
After being hungry all day and being drenched in rain for so long, she felt like her belly was about to stick to her back.
Since I'm tired, hungry, and have a sore back and legs, I won't be angry with him.
She reached out a small hand in her heart, extinguished the small flame, turned over and got up and said to Xiao Zhuo: "My husband must be hungry, right? You can roast the clothes first, wait for me to clean up the room, and then go to the kitchen downstairs to find some food."
This man is not made of iron. He has a shoulder injury and has been exposed to the rain for so long. He must be very hungry.
The charcoal braziers from the rooms to the left and right were gathered in this room, and the room was already warm. She first opened the window to ventilate, then took a torch, placed it on the brazier, and lit the lamp on the table inside the room, brightening the room. Then she pulled off the dusty sheets and quilt and replaced them with clean mattresses from the closet. She would definitely rest here tonight; she didn't like the room to be dirty.
Xiao Zhuo remained silent, watching her busying around, and suddenly whispered, "Chicken soup."
Shen Yuexi was stunned for a moment, then picked up the torch and said softly, "Okay, I'll go take a look. My husband is waiting here."
She wanted to say, "Stop joking. Where's the chicken soup for the soul here?" She was just trying to tease him, but he actually took it seriously. But thinking of Xiao Zhuo's groggy, dazed look, she couldn't bear it and changed her words.
She carried the torch down the stairs and into the kitchen.
She used to be very afraid of the dark and only felt safe when Xiao Zhuo was around. Now she found that she seemed to be much braver than before.
The kitchen was empty. There was a pile of chopped firewood under the stove, a small pot on the stove, a few bowls in the kitchen, and a kitchen knife standing upright.
She lowered the torch to see if there was any food on the ground, such as potatoes, even if they had sprouted.
After searching for a long time, they found nothing. Counting the days, the Jingzhou army attacked here years ago. Now, several months have passed, and the food that was left here has rotted away.
Although she was filled with disappointment, she still gathered up the pots, pans, kitchen knives, and other things and took them upstairs. She was exhausted and didn't want to go up and down the stairs.
When they got to the room, Xiao Zhuo was still sitting obediently in front of the charcoal brazier, staring at the charcoal fire, wondering what he was thinking.
Shen Yuexi first went to the open window and, using the rain as a backdrop, cleaned the dusty pot. She then collected a small pot of rainwater. She returned and, looking in the light, saw that the water seemed to contain tiny grains of sand. While it might be drinkable if boiled, it didn't seem entirely hygienic.
"Big Bear, make two liters of pure water." She instructed Big Bear in her heart.
In this way, you can drink clean boiled water.
She raised the edges of the charcoal basin, sat the pot on it, hugged her knees and stared blankly at the pure water in the pot slowly bubbling with strings of tiny bubbles.
Your stomach is growling with hunger, isn’t it too pitiful to just drink plain water?
"That chicken," Xiao Zhuo said inappropriately, looking out the window, "is gone."
Shen Yuexi was warming herself by the fire, and when she heard the question, she almost jumped up.
What a mess! Forget chicken! There isn't even a single vegetable in the kitchen.
She didn't want to get angry, so she simply stood up and walked to the open window, wanting to take a few breaths of fresh air and calm her mind.
Raindrops fell from the eaves like beads that had broken off a string, weaving a curtain of rain before her eyes.
Longsheng Town had long been deserted, and she and Xiao Zhuo should be safe now. Qiang Lin and the secret guards had risked their lives to protect her and Xiao Zhuo, but she could no longer do anything for them. Living a good life was her only way to repay them.
Next, they had to find a way to return to Xiaogang Village, their home. Doctor Hua insisted on staying, and it was unknown whether he was alive or dead. His son, Hua Duoduo, was a doctor after all, and he could ask him to prescribe some medicine for Xiao Zhuo's recovery...
As she was thinking, she suddenly heard a fluttering sound outside the window, as if a large bird had flown in, splashing rain all over her face. She instinctively squatted down with her hands covering her head, turned around and looked into the house.
A colorful pheasant landed on the ground, holding a green leaf in its mouth. It spread out its feathers to shake off the rain and flew out of the open door.
Shen Yuexi thought she was dizzy from hunger and was in a daze when Xiao Zhuo raised his hand and pointed at the door: "That chicken is gone again."
"It's a real chicken!" Shen Yuexi was extremely surprised. Suddenly, she felt strong again. She picked up the torch at the door and chased after it.
In the light of the fire, the pheasant was perched on the railing of the second-floor corridor, tilting its head to comb its colorful feathers.
It really wasn't a dream.
It is a majestic and powerful rooster, with round eyes emitting sharp light, a pointed beak like a curved silver hook, dark green neck hairs on its neck like a soldier's armor, and strong claws under the brown and black feathers all over its body that remind her of an eagle's claws, and long brown tail feathers like straight spears.
The words "not to be trifled with" are written all over his body.
Shen Yuexi suddenly became timid.
She recalled the time when she and Xiao Zhuo were in the cave, when a pheasant had also played tricks on her, and it was Xiao Zhuo who had helped her deal with it. Later, when she arrived in Daliang Village, the hens at Mrs. Lin's house... it was also Mrs. Lin who helped her deal with them.
If the chickens she had met before were compared to soldiers, then the big rooster in front of her was the general, the commander, and the king of chickens.
She was clearly a weakling, yet she once again faced a situation where she needed to catch a chicken.
But this time no one helped her.
"You...you have to be good, let me catch you." Shen Yuexi stuck the torch into the wall of the corridor and slowly stretched out her hands. "My husband wants to drink chicken soup. I promised him."
Before she could get close, the alert pheasant had already spread its wings and flew onto the counter near the downstairs door. Fortunately, Shen Yuexi had closed the door after entering. Now the pheasant could only fly in the first-floor lobby.
"My husband wants some chicken soup," Shen Yuexi shouted as she chased down the stairs, "Since you've come to me, don't run away."
As long as it doesn't fly out of the house, she believes she can't catch it.
I was a little anxious when running down the stairs, and my legs, which were already sore, went limp. Fortunately, I grabbed the handrail in time and did not roll down the stairs.
The pheasant cackled and flew up again, landing behind an overturned table in the distance.
Shen Yuexi panted as she walked down the stairs. She stared at the long tail dangling from the edge of the table and tiptoed closer: "Don't even think about running away."
Xiao Zhuo sat in the house, his ears filled with the sounds of roosters crowing, flapping wings, the woman's screams, and the sound of tables and chairs being knocked over. Finally, the woman actually started crying, and the more she cried, the louder it got.
Who is crying?
He had been in a daze ever since leaving the barracks, his vague consciousness shrouding him like a boundless black fog. But the sound of crying in his ears gradually dissipated the fog. It was because that cry suddenly made his heart ache.
Although the heartache was painful, it made his dying heart beat again.
Familiar yet unfamiliar scenes played out in his mind: he and that person were hiding from pursuit in a dilapidated temple, he was roasting eggs for that person in a cave, that person had him climb a cliff by the back of a knife, they both rolled down the hillside, that person lost consciousness in the river, and her clinging embrace nearly cost them both their lives...
That person was a shadowy figure, and he wanted to catch it but couldn't. But the crying led him step by step closer to the shadow.
He raised his hands and held his head.
His consciousness gradually became clear, and his lost rationality returned to his body.
He remembered that when he thought he had lost everything and had no desire to live, it was that person who came back to find him and let him know that he was not completely lost...
It’s Shen Yuexi.
He had clearly been completely defeated, having lost his status as Crown Prince, his army, and his men. Yet, Shen Yuexi remained by his side, steadfastly pulling at the reins of his mount as they galloped, holding his hand as they trudged through the heavy rain...
Now, for her own sake, she was dragging her weak body to fight against the thing she had always feared.
She couldn't catch the pheasant at all, and she needed his help.
Xiao Zhuo stood up suddenly and walked out the door quickly. He just happened to see Shen Yuexi walking up the stairs with tears in her eyes.
He held onto the door frame, watching her gradually become clearer.
Her slender figure was shrouded in soaked clothing, her wet black hair tangled against her tear-stained, pale face. Her expression was a mixture of joy and pain, and she muttered something incoherent. She held the pheasant tightly in her arms, one wing spread wide over her arm. The pheasant, clearly unwilling to be caught, struggled with its claws, its silver-hooked beak repeatedly nibbling at the back of her hand.
When he got closer, he finally heard what she was muttering.
"Please don't peck my face, just peck the back of my hand... wuwu," she muttered while crying, "wuwu... it hurts."
It turns out that she was crying so hard because she was pecked by a pheasant.
He thought she had failed again and needed his help, but she gave him a big surprise.
Shen Yuexi also saw Xiao Zhuo standing at the door.
There seemed to be something more in his gaze. His eyes, once like two stagnant pools of water, were now rippled.
But she couldn't afford to observe these things carefully now. The chicken in her arms was too strong, and she had to use all her strength to hold it. What was even more annoying was that the chicken kept pecking at the back of her hand, not only pecking, but also twisting it.
It's so embarrassing to tell others that a grown man was bullied like this by a chicken.
"Husband...Husband, go back and warm yourself by the fire. I'll make you some chicken soup."
As soon as she said this, the pheasant in her arms struggled even harder, and kicked her lower abdomen with its two claws, breaking free from her arms.
"Chicken soup!" Shen Yuexi knelt on the ground and screamed in surprise as she watched the pheasant flying into the air.
After chasing the pheasant for so long, she was exhausted and had no strength to chase it anymore.
The pheasant flew right in front of Xiao Zhuo, who raised his hand and grabbed the pheasant's neck. With a flash of the kitchen knife, the pheasant's head and body were separated, and Xiao Zhuo threw the headless pheasant to the ground.
Shen Yuexi was overjoyed and said to Xiao Zhuo, "Husband, are you okay?"
From the way Xiao Zhuo caught the chicken and the speed at which he swung his knife, it could be seen that the Xiao Zhuo he was familiar with was back.
"Well," Xiao Zhuo turned around and said, "I'll clean it up later."
A huge joy filled Shen Yuexi's heart. In an instant, she felt that all her previous hard work had finally paid off. There was no greater sorrow than a broken heart. As long as her husband could pull himself together, she believed that everything would be fine.
"No, no, my husband, you are injured. Let me take care of it." She stood up and bent down to grab the pheasant on the floor.
Unexpectedly, the pheasant flipped over and jumped up, spread its wings and flew into the air, with blood from the broken neck still spraying everywhere.
Shen Yuexi screamed and jumped up.
It's so scary. Even though its head has been chopped off, this chicken can still fly.
When she recovered from her shock and opened her eyes, she found herself in Xiao Zhuo's arms. Her arms were tightly wrapped around his neck, and her legs were clamped around his waist, completely hanging on Xiao Zhuo.
"I was so scared." She embarrassedly used one hand to wipe away her tears.
To prove her words were true, she took Xiao Zhuo's hand and pressed it against her chest, "Look how fast my heart is beating."
Xiao Zhuo said nothing. He carried her light body with one hand and walked to the bed. He laid her down on it and roughly tore off her clothes.
Shen Yuexi stared at him blankly, thinking for a moment that Xiao Zhuo just didn't want her to wear wet clothes. But in just a moment, she realized what was happening.
There was a blazing fire in his cold eyes.
She stretched out her hands to hook her arms around Xiao Zhuo's neck and offered her lips...
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